StephPlum
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2011
Google has let me down. What is WWDCD? I know I’ll feel stupid once you share.
I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 (see first page for add'l details)
- Thread starter miztressuz
- Start date
AlI've read Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted but not sure about Amex. I was thinking they could each take either a Chase Visa (CSP) or MasterCard (IHG) and also an Amex Hilton as the backup. However, if Amex are not accepted, then that's not a good backup.
Last edited:
calypso726
Escaping reality one Disney vacation at a time
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2006
My guess was What Would Disney/DISboards Churners Do. I could be wrong. Glad you asked, I’d like to know if I guessed it right lolGoogle has let me down. What is WWDCD? I know I’ll feel stupid once you share.
wanderlust7
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2015
Yes, you can use GC for the balance now. It should get applied automatically. That's how it shows up for first and manual second payments. I haven't tried automatic second payment.
CaliforniaGirl09
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2009
Thank you so much for posting this. Banff has been on our list for a long weekend trip (we are on west coast) and this sounds like a great road map. I have struggled to use our Amex $200 credits (we each have platinum cards) and this sounds like a great way to do so. We also have Hilton Free Nights so I'll see if they have any good redemptions for Banff. Lake Louise is so gorgeous and has been on my list for a long time. Any restaurant recommendations?
wanderlust7
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2015
If you upgrade to the CSR, you can use the $300 travel credit twice on 1 AF, come out $50 ahead plus all the other benefits.
orangecuse
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2018
Yes! What Would Disboard Churners Do lol
lsutigers03
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2019
This is what I would do. If you PC between multiple cards every other year you can hold a CSR and at a minimum you net $50 but you can easily do much better than that.
GZanta77
(fka: uksaint)
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2018
Just returned from a trip to the UK to visit family - it wasn't a trip I was planning on so booked only 3 weeks out and rewards flight options were extremely limited. I decided to fly JetBlue in Mint using Amex MRs and utilizing the 35% points back. Worked out to about 70,000MRs each way, plus I earned close to 10,000 JetBlue miles on the trip. It was a highly acceptable way to cross the pond - free wifi worked for about 80% of the flight and the outbound cabin crew was excellent. On the return they were just OK, but nothing to complain about.
I don't have global entry, and immigration was mobbed on my return to Boston - easily 500+ people in line. Fortunately, I had downloaded the Mobile Passport Control app. Took about 5 minutes to answer the questions on the app and then into the MPC line with only 3 people ahead of me. Probably saved me an hour or more and highly recommended if your arrival airport supports it. (Also available for some cruiseports)
I don't have global entry, and immigration was mobbed on my return to Boston - easily 500+ people in line. Fortunately, I had downloaded the Mobile Passport Control app. Took about 5 minutes to answer the questions on the app and then into the MPC line with only 3 people ahead of me. Probably saved me an hour or more and highly recommended if your arrival airport supports it. (Also available for some cruiseports)
Is the MPC app something new?
havaneselover
Dreaming about a Disney cruise
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2009
If anyone familiar with Japan wants to give me advice, I'd be thrilled. Right now we are scheduled to fly into Tokyo and out of Osaka in early/mid May. We have ten days to split between the two. I think our must sees are Disney Sea and Mt. Fuji in Tokyo and USJ in Osaka, Osaka castle, and Kyoto. Originally I was thinking of doing 5 nights in each but I'm wondering if I should do 6 in Tokyo. The other thing I'm wondering about is if I should stick with one hotel in Tokyo (looking at Tokyo Hilton or Conrad Tokyo) or do a night or two at the Hilton Tokyo Bay for our Disney day. Trying to work with Hilton points (315k or so), Bonvoy points (250k or so), and a Hilton FNC (I can get another one pretty easily). But I'm okay with other options too. And of course we need a room that sleeps three.
Narnia_girl
He's not a tame lion, but he is good.
- Joined
- May 11, 2009
We just returned from a trip to Glacier National Park/ Waterton International. I found it hard to save money on this trip but we did have a few strategies.
I've wanted to visit Glacier/Waterton for as long as I could remember. I knew it was hard to get in-park accommodations so I made reservations in July 2022 for July 2023--and even then couldn't find a lot of options.
Kootenai Falls and Swinging Bridge (Terrific stop /short hike on the scenic route between Spokane and Glacier)
Avalanche Lake
How I paid:
We fly from St. Louis so just getting to Montana is challenging. I opted for Southwest into Spokane, with a stop in Oakland. Paid about 20,000 points each for DH and DD. I thought this was high, but since I have the companion pass it helped ease the cost. Our return flight was even higher.
I booked the Springhill Suites Spokane airport for our evening arrival hotel. I am glad we stayed here. It's so close and saved us from having to pick up the rental car that night. It's right across the street from the airport, but the rooms were quiet. I never heard any planes in the night and the staff was very friendly. I paid for this hotel using a Chase offer for 10% back.
National Car Rental--we used to have a corporate account and I was spoiled with those rates. That's gone, so I found the best deal/rebate I could. I found car rental rates cheaper in late spring than they were in Jan./Feb.
In the morning we walked across the street to the car rental counter and started our drive to Glacier.
Our first few nights were in Glacier Park West in their cabins. They were small but nice and situated very close to the park entrance. I'd stay here again.
After a few days we left the west and went to the east side of the park. I had booked St. Mary Village not fully grasping that the "west motel" of our reservations was not the beautiful lodge in all the photos. I even checked after we got home--all the online photos are of the main lodge.
I am fine with an old-fashioned motel if it's clean and up-to-date. This place was the exact opposite. If you find yourself heading to the St. Mary side of Glacier, avoid the Motel West. It was dingy, dated and very bad Wifi. To top it off, it's expensive. Now, that being said, it's location is awesome...literally on the same road as the east entrance.
Going to Sun Road
One of four bears we saw. We also saw moose, a wolverine, mountain goats, longhorn sheep, marmots, deer, and chipmunks.
"Entertainment" Costs. Our plan was to spend every day in the park and hike a lot. We aren't really into the touristy stuff that beckons outside the park (ropes courses, go-carts, etc...) We bought the National Park Pass for the year so that was our admission into the park. There is a road reservation system if you want to go to popular areas like Going to the Sun Road and Many Glacier area. Since I did not know about those dates, we employed two other strategies: entering before 6 a.m. or after 3 p.m., and booking boat trips. If you have a boat/horse reservation, you can access these roads all day. The boat trips were nice excursions, and not very expensive, but added to the cost of "just hiking".
We also went to Waterton, Canada one day and that park charges 10.50 per person entrance. It was well worth it. I loved Waterton and want to go back.
Food: In our west-side cabin we had a tiny kitchen (no oven) and were able to shop and cook healthy meals. We packed a collapsible cooler in our luggage so we were able to keep cold drinks and picnic food for our days in the park.
Food got harder when we went to the east side. The St. Mary Village West Motel does not have a mini-fridge or microwave. There is one small grocery store. We stopped in one evening to pick up quick breakfast food for our 6 a.m. park entrance time and found PopTarts were $7.19 (just checked my local store and they are $2.62 here). We found some fruit that was better for us and our wallets. We ate out for our dinners. Some food was pretty good, some just okay. A $30 pizza was our cheapest meal.
I have to give a shout out to Wieners of Waterton. This place was recommended to us and it was delicious. I mean, really it's a hot dog, how good could it be, but if you are there just go. And get the sweet potato fries, too.
Our last night was spent on Schweitzer Mountain in Sandpoint, Idaho. We stayed at their new Humbird Lodge. It's $650/night in the winter but only $240 in summer. I tried booking direct but it would only allow two night stay. I was happy to find one night booking available on Expedia, plus I had 7% back for Rakuten and Amex had $20 back.
We took the ski lift up the mountain and enjoyed the village pub.
As I said above, Glacier was hard to get to and an expensive trip. I felt like there weren't many ways to save or get deals. I understand them having to make money while they can since so much of the year they are snowed in, so for most of the trip, the costs were tolerable. It's just our time at St. Mary Village where I felt fleeced.
One other expense: bear spray. You can't fly with it so you have to buy or rent it there unless you are driving in. It's highly recommended and I would not have hiked without it. We paid $50 for a can in West Glacier and (thankfully) did not use it. We passed it on to another family when we left the area.
I've wanted to visit Glacier/Waterton for as long as I could remember. I knew it was hard to get in-park accommodations so I made reservations in July 2022 for July 2023--and even then couldn't find a lot of options.
Kootenai Falls and Swinging Bridge (Terrific stop /short hike on the scenic route between Spokane and Glacier)
Avalanche Lake
How I paid:
We fly from St. Louis so just getting to Montana is challenging. I opted for Southwest into Spokane, with a stop in Oakland. Paid about 20,000 points each for DH and DD. I thought this was high, but since I have the companion pass it helped ease the cost. Our return flight was even higher.
I booked the Springhill Suites Spokane airport for our evening arrival hotel. I am glad we stayed here. It's so close and saved us from having to pick up the rental car that night. It's right across the street from the airport, but the rooms were quiet. I never heard any planes in the night and the staff was very friendly. I paid for this hotel using a Chase offer for 10% back.
National Car Rental--we used to have a corporate account and I was spoiled with those rates. That's gone, so I found the best deal/rebate I could. I found car rental rates cheaper in late spring than they were in Jan./Feb.
In the morning we walked across the street to the car rental counter and started our drive to Glacier.
Our first few nights were in Glacier Park West in their cabins. They were small but nice and situated very close to the park entrance. I'd stay here again.
After a few days we left the west and went to the east side of the park. I had booked St. Mary Village not fully grasping that the "west motel" of our reservations was not the beautiful lodge in all the photos. I even checked after we got home--all the online photos are of the main lodge.
I am fine with an old-fashioned motel if it's clean and up-to-date. This place was the exact opposite. If you find yourself heading to the St. Mary side of Glacier, avoid the Motel West. It was dingy, dated and very bad Wifi. To top it off, it's expensive. Now, that being said, it's location is awesome...literally on the same road as the east entrance.
Going to Sun Road
One of four bears we saw. We also saw moose, a wolverine, mountain goats, longhorn sheep, marmots, deer, and chipmunks.
"Entertainment" Costs. Our plan was to spend every day in the park and hike a lot. We aren't really into the touristy stuff that beckons outside the park (ropes courses, go-carts, etc...) We bought the National Park Pass for the year so that was our admission into the park. There is a road reservation system if you want to go to popular areas like Going to the Sun Road and Many Glacier area. Since I did not know about those dates, we employed two other strategies: entering before 6 a.m. or after 3 p.m., and booking boat trips. If you have a boat/horse reservation, you can access these roads all day. The boat trips were nice excursions, and not very expensive, but added to the cost of "just hiking".
We also went to Waterton, Canada one day and that park charges 10.50 per person entrance. It was well worth it. I loved Waterton and want to go back.
Food: In our west-side cabin we had a tiny kitchen (no oven) and were able to shop and cook healthy meals. We packed a collapsible cooler in our luggage so we were able to keep cold drinks and picnic food for our days in the park.
Food got harder when we went to the east side. The St. Mary Village West Motel does not have a mini-fridge or microwave. There is one small grocery store. We stopped in one evening to pick up quick breakfast food for our 6 a.m. park entrance time and found PopTarts were $7.19 (just checked my local store and they are $2.62 here). We found some fruit that was better for us and our wallets. We ate out for our dinners. Some food was pretty good, some just okay. A $30 pizza was our cheapest meal.
I have to give a shout out to Wieners of Waterton. This place was recommended to us and it was delicious. I mean, really it's a hot dog, how good could it be, but if you are there just go. And get the sweet potato fries, too.
Our last night was spent on Schweitzer Mountain in Sandpoint, Idaho. We stayed at their new Humbird Lodge. It's $650/night in the winter but only $240 in summer. I tried booking direct but it would only allow two night stay. I was happy to find one night booking available on Expedia, plus I had 7% back for Rakuten and Amex had $20 back.
We took the ski lift up the mountain and enjoyed the village pub.
As I said above, Glacier was hard to get to and an expensive trip. I felt like there weren't many ways to save or get deals. I understand them having to make money while they can since so much of the year they are snowed in, so for most of the trip, the costs were tolerable. It's just our time at St. Mary Village where I felt fleeced.
One other expense: bear spray. You can't fly with it so you have to buy or rent it there unless you are driving in. It's highly recommended and I would not have hiked without it. We paid $50 for a can in West Glacier and (thankfully) did not use it. We passed it on to another family when we left the area.
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Haley R
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2017
I would do the 6 nights in Tokyo and do a night or two at the Hilton Tokyo bay. It’s very convenient for getting into the park
Crazed4DisneyinSC
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2019
Your trip is pretty similar to ours. We went in early-mid May, and also for 10 full days (not including travel days). We did 6 days in Tokyo (which included one day at DisneySea, and one day trip to Kawaguchiko to try and see Fuji, which we did not), 3 days in Kyoto (which included 1/2 day in Nara), and 1 day in Osaka (which we didn't love). If I could have gone back and redone it, I would have (in place of Osaka) added another day to Kyoto as we loved it there. Osaka reminded us of a more run-down, grimier Tokyo. Granted, we didn't do USJ... we did Osaka Castle and park, Namba Yasaka Jinja shrine, Hozenji temple, Kuromon fish market, and Dotonbori.
djmeredith
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2005
I can't speak about Ireland specifically, but was just in London, Paris, and Amsterdam in May. I would definitely only take cards with my name on them rather than risk any potential questions/issues. I used mostly Visa, but AmEx a few places. I did not take any cash, I never do. I stop at an ATM and grab some cash. Sometimes I get it in the airport but the fee is usually higher there. Sometimes I just wait until they get to their hotel area and find an ATM because it will probably have less fees.
GZanta77
(fka: uksaint)
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2018
I think it came out last year - I hadn't given it much thought, but my daughter used it and it worked well for her, so I figured it was worth downloading to have as an option
We spent 2 weeks in Ireland in June. We brought 200 euros (got from our bank when exchange rate was good) and got 100 from an atm twice. There were things that required cash (bike rental on Inishbofin and a small ferry between Baltimore-Sherkin Island and something else I can’t recall…oh a taxi between our Airbnb and Doolin). I think we also used euros once or twice when it wasn’t required. Oh we also tipped our falconer who did our private hawk walk. I’m sure I’m missing somethings.
We used only Visas while there, CSP and VentureX. We did have our Amex but never used it.
DrFacilier
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2017
Last application before hitting 2 yesterday was 90 days before. Not going to call recon and just going to plan on doing my first SW app 90 days from yesterday.
DrFacilier
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2017
P2 is not holding a Sapphire card and it’s been over 4 years since the bonus. Thanks for bringing this up. We will instead call to PC her freedom unlimited. We need the travel benefits more than we need the sign-up bonus on that card right now. About to book a premier hotel at Universal for next year and the CSR could save us about 1K in points.
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Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
